You may or may not recognize David Sweeny as the charismatic sex machine that is Johnny Showcase. The multi-faceted performer is now teaming up with fellow Pig Iron Theatre Co. alum Sarah McCarron & Yuval Boim, and utilizing his various talents to make the South Philly-based indie film D.I.Y., a non-traditional rom-com where a queer-identified couple decides to plan an alternative wedding, clashing against the marriage industrial complex. “In a world where institutions are constantly changing, how do we define for ourselves what it means to commit to our most intimate relationships?”

Sweeny will be pulling double duty in the production's lead role and as the film’s Music Director, and he just shared a breezy, new Johnny Showcase ditty, called “Fingernail Clipping of the Moon”. The lighthearted, ukulele-driven number will appear on the movie’s soundtrack, which will feature contributions from a variety of local musicians. The D.I.Y. folks are also currently involved in Seed&Spark’s Hometown Hero competition (which ends this Friday), and they could use your help to win a chance to work with the lauded Duplass Brothers. So give the gang some hometown love, and FOLLOW them HERE!

A new year represents aesthetically a clean slate, the chance to turn the page and let the past whether, recent or not, behind. Of course, the past may also hold cherished memories that one wishes to carry into the future. Either way, Saturday night serves as an opportunity to celebrate, for some, the year that was and for others the year that one hopes 2017 will be.

Now, my first instinct when I enter any environment is to look and listen; if there’s music, that’s typically a solid forecaster of good fortune. With that criteria, here are a few places one should consider spending the last hours of a trying 2016.

The high-octane ragged barrelhouse blues of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb will be headlining Boot & Saddle, paired with the earnest Americana of Levee Drivers, and the playfully bizarre, eclectic Mercury Radio Theater. If funky R&B and soul are your aspirations, Underground Arts is the destination. The brass beacon of Balkan beats, known as West Philadelphia Orchestra, and the retrograde soul-funk engine of Johnny Showcase once again come together for sweaty, good time. And channeling the silky authoritative dance-inducing vibes of Byrne & Bowie, MINKA enters the fray, which also starts with the funky instrumental slices of Muscle Tough.

The spellbinding folk-psych of Kurt Vile brings his mellow/mercury-spiking spectrum to The Fillmore, where he’ll be joined by psych-folk outfit Woods and Nathan Bowles. Ortlieb’s will host the mobile-layered, grooving, melodic sojourn of Mo Lowda & The Humble, as well as the atmosphere-altering, future-traversing experimentation of Air is Human, and a DJ set from Suburban Living, who will be pulling double duty that evening performing at Franklin Hall with Vacationer and CRUISR. BTW: Speaking of DJ sets, Lushlife will also be occupying the decks at Johnny Brenda’s.

Nice job, Philly! What looked a little scarce with local representation for New Year’s Eve has filled out into a variety of sweet shows that will have folks spread out all over Philly. Kat Kat Phest, in its fourth and final year, will be auld lang syning away at Everybody Hits with Creepoid and The Spirit of the Beehive, two bands that definitely deserve more of that national/international love and attention in 2016. A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Captured Track’s EZTV, and Mercury Girls have the indie-pop goodness on lockdown over at Johnny Brenda’s. The dancin’ fools can be found with the Making Time crew at Union Transfer, West Philadelphia Orchestra, Johnny Showcase & The Mystics, and Ill Doots at Underground Arts, and LOUDS and Cheerleader, at Ortlieb’s this year. Unfortunately, Nothing at Boot & Saddle is sold out, as you should’ve known that it would, but I’m a firm believer that you can get into any show that you really want to. You just need to get crafty. Maybe unlawful sometimes, but it’s all in the name of the rock gods. Hope to see you out and about this NYE! - Q.D. Tran

The week can really hold you down. When Friday finally rolls around, you’re ready to break out and embrace that groove train. If that’s the case, punch your ticket at Underground Arts this evening. Celebrating the release of their new record, The Octopus!, Johnny Showcase & The Mystic Ticket invite you on their psychedelic spaceship of funk. Horn–charged blasts ignite the soulful get down. The cool, calm and collected dance-rock of Minka, whose sound is bathed in the waters of Bowie & Byrne, turns up the heat. Dishing out their customary dose of Balkan brass, The West Philadelphia Orchestra lifts a traditional sound with an exuberant modern feel, and to top this off, none other than Miss Martha Graham Cracker. Underground Arts, 1100 Callowhill St., 8pm, $13, 21+ - Michael Colavita

Absurdist funk/soul act Johnny Showcase has a new music video for his single "Your Love is a Mystery." It was directed by Bethany Ditnes and Brian Troy, and you'll find Philadelphia's Magic Gardens as most of the video's backdrop with a guest appearance by Isaiah Zagar. The track can be found on Johnny Showcase's new album The Octopus!, which is out today, and he'll be celebrating its surfacing at Underground Art's on Friday, October 16 with Minka and Miss Martha Graham Cracker.

The Deli Magazine was born in NYC's Attorney Street in 2004, in the shape of a print issue with a then unknown band on its cover, called Grizzly Bear. Ths NYC blog came in 2005, then the SF one in 2006, and then 9 more in the following years. The Deli is focused on the coverage of emerging bands and solo artists with a 100% local focus - no exceptions!